Cockatoo Bird Species

There
are many different cockatoo bird
species
in Australia.

Although not quite as colourful as Australian parrots, Australian
cockatoos are one of the
cheekiest and smartest birds in Australia. Here are some pictures of
cockatoos, and some cockatoo facts such as what do cockatoos eat and
should cockatoos be pets; and a few facts about Red Tailed Black
Cockatoos, Sulphur-crested Cockatoo, and other species of cockatoos
found in Australia.

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Types of Cockatoo Bird
Cockatoos are related to parrots. While parrots belong to the family
Psittacidae and cockatoos belong the family Cacatuidae, both belong to
the order Psittaciformes.
Although Psittaciformes are found on all the
tropical and subtropical continents in the world such as India, Africa,
South-east Asia and southern regions in North America, by far the most
of the world’s 350 species of Psittaciformes are found in Australia
and South America. Because they are mainly found in Southern
Hemisphere, it is thought that they evolved on Gondwana continent.
Australian cockatoos are smaller and less colourful than South
America’s Macaws and Amazons, but they are noisier and more active.

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Cockatoo Bird Noise and Social Nature
All cockatoos are very social birds and they live in life-long couple
bonds. They are also excellent communicators – palm cockatoos for
example gather in large groups every morning before taking off from
roosting sites to feed, and greet each other raising their crests and
streching their wings. The crests of cockatoos are also erected
whenever the birds are excited or alarmed. Cockatoos are also known to
have piercing calls, which are believed to give information about
location and identity of the caller, and sometimes warn about the
presence of a threat.

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What Does a Cockatoo Bird Eat
In mornings and late afternoons cockatoos fly around in large noisy
flocks, while in the midday heat they rest in trees, nibbling leaves
and bark, and open large seeds with their powerful beaks. As opposed to
many other birds that swallow the seeds whole, cockatoos are not seed
dispersers, they eat the seeds and in many cases they are known to eat
the fruit only to get to the seed. As in all birds, the bill shape of
different types of cockatoos reflects the diet: Long-billed Corellas
use their beak to dig up bulbs and the long bill of Palm Cockatoos is
used to open palm seeds. In the process they litter the ground under
the trees with broken seeds, leaves and blossom – it is a good sign
that helps to find them because while feeding in trees they are quiet.

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Should Cockatoos Be Pets?
They have, along with parrots,
the most evolved brains in all birds. They
became easily tame if among people, and can imitate all sorts of
noises, including peoples’ words. Palm cockatoo for example is known to
make and use tools – the male drums on the bark with a grevillea nut,
making a noise to defend its territory and possibly maintain the pair
bond. Because of their sociable nature and intelligence, cockatoos have
always been popular pets and just like parrots, their wild populations
have been suffering from over-trading in many countries. Unless bred in
captivity through many generations, the naturally sociable cockatoos
that live in couples would not enjoy a life-long imprisonment in cage,
particularly when alone - so think twice before you buy one. Australia
banned the export of its native birds in 1960, and penalties for
smuggling are heavy.

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Breeding Seasons of Different Types of Cockatoo Bird
Different species breed at different times of the year,
depending on in which climate in Australia they live. (There is more
exact information about cockatoo breeding times in the links below).
All cockatoos need tree hollows for nesting, and logging of old-growth
forests which have tree hollows large enough for a bird of the size of
cockatoos, may have a bad effect on many cockatoo populations.

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Types of Cockatoo Bird in Australia
With 14 species, 11 of which are endemic, Australia is a
country with many types of these birds. Australian cockatoos are mostly
white or black with red or yellow patches, some are pink or bluish. All
cockatoos are fairly large birds and fly relatively slow.

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Red Tailed Black and Glossy Black Cockatoo
The largest group of Australian ones, the seven species of Black
Cockatoos cover different parts of Australia: Long-billed
Black Cockatoos (Calyptorhynchus baudinii) and Short-billed
Black Cockatoos (Calyptorhynchus latirostris) live in
open forests and woodlands in south-western
Australia.

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The bluish-black Gang-gang Cockatoos (Callocephalon
fimbriatum) are found in the forests of the cold south-eastern
Australia, Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoos (Calyptorhynchus
funereus) are found in Tasmania and the coast of Victoria and New
South Wales. Glossy Black
Cockatoo Bird (Calyptorhynchus lathami), the smallest
black
cockatoo lives in New South Wales and Queensland, and the largest, Palm
Cockatoo (Probosciger aterrimus), in the Cape York
in far
north Queensland. The Red-tailed Black
Cockatoos (Calyptorhynchus banksii), the most common of
Australian black cockatoos, live in northern parts of Northern
Territory, northern and western parts of Western
Australia, and almost everywhere in Queensland.

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Sulphur-Crested Cockatoo Bird
The most common of white-coloured Australian cockatoos is the Sulphur-crested
Cockatoo (Cacatua galerita), which is found in northern
and eastern parts of Australia, including Tasmania.
It is one of the noisiest Australian cockatoos. It is a relatively
large bird with a white plumage and a fanlike, yellow crest. Its
undertail and underwings are pail yellow, and beak and feet are dark.
Sulphur-crested Cockatoo lives in rainforest, forest and woodland, but
also parklands and gardens in urban areas. It lives in pairs and small
groups but can also be seen flying in large flocks in the outback. It
mobs predators like birds of prey, large lizards and snakes. Female
lays 2-3 eggs in a large tree hollow which are incubated by both sexes
during 30 days. It eats mainly seeds, but also fruit, flowers, roots
and insect larvae. Good places to see Sulphur-crested Cockatoos are
Royal National Park south of Sydney,
Mutawintji National Park in New
South Wales, and the Grampians
in Victoria.

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Corella
Other common white Australian cockatoos are corellas. Little
Corellas (Cacatua sanguinea)
fly in huge noisy flocks in the outback where they live in semi-arid
areas, monsoon woodlands and scrubland habitats, but also farms and
urban areas. Long billed Corella (Cacatua
tenuirostris)
has a long upper bill as the name indicates,and its pinkish patches on
face and neck are larger than in other corellas. It feeds in large
flocks on the ground and lives on farmlands and in Red Gum woodlands. Western
Corella (Cacatua pastinator) looks
like a hybrid of the other two, having an intermediate-sized beak and
red patches larger than those of Little Corella, but smaller than those
of Long-billed Corella.

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Galah and Major Mitchell Cockatoo Bird
Pink Australian cockatoos include the small Major Mitchell
Cockatoos (Cacatua leadbeateri) that are found in parts
of inland in all states of Australia, and the noisy, cheeky Galah
Cockatoos (Eolophus roseicapilla) that are very
common
in all states except the waterless plains in inland Australia, and
south-western corner of Western
Australia.
Major Mitchell Cockatoos fly in small flocks and live in habitats
with mallee, mulga, she-oak and Murray Pine. Galah Cockatoos live in
woodland, grassland, parks and open scrubland, and are seen everywhere
in the outback Australia.

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